Stephen Garavilla Obituary, Death – The news that one of Wakefield’s true legends, Stephen de Garavilla, passed away this week while he was surrounded by his family after a prolonged battle to recover from a serious health setback is very upsetting to us. Stephen de Garavilla had been fighting to get better from an illness for a long time. Stephen de Garavilla was one of the people who had the most significant impact on the development of Wakefield throughout its history.
Over the course of the previous 35 years, Stephen has been a constant presence on the sidelines in Wakefield. Despite the fact that his children are no longer a part of the program, he has continued to coach and develop our youngest boys travel teams.
He has provided these teams with a consistent approach to the game as well as a philosophy that has been helpful to many players throughout the course of their playing careers. He had an unyielding commitment to player development, always seeking to instill the greatest habits in all of his players, and making it his job to assist them in obtaining a deeper grasp of the game. He was a great coach because of his unwavering dedication to player development. Simply by taking a look at a person, it is possible to determine whether or not they have been a member of one of Stephen’s teams.
Because many of our more recent or younger coaches have looked up to Stephen’s coaching philosophy throughout the course of the years, his legacy will continue to be carried on in Wakefield for a great deal of time to come. Stephen’s remarkable career as a volunteer coach has just been recognized on the state, regional, and national levels; he was nominated for and awarded the title of 2022 Coach of the Year at all levels of competition. Stephen’s accomplishments as a volunteer coach have been recognized on all three levels.
